Info for Students

Find out about student financing here.

Need-Based Loan Options

• Federal Direct Loan is designed for students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and are enrolled in a degree or qualified certificate program at an eligible school on at least a half-time basis. There are no credit-check or co-signer requirements and no employment or income verifications.  You must be a U. S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to participate in this program.

Loan Amounts:

Qualification: If you demonstrate financial need, as determined by federal regulations, you may receive a Direct Subsidized loan. The interest that accrues on a Direct Subsidized loan is paid by the Federal Government while you are in school. If you do not demonstrate financial need, you may still be eligible for an Direct Unsubsidized loan. The interest that accrues on an Direct Unsubsidized loan while you are in school is your responsibility. You have the option of paying the interest quarterly or having it added to the principal balance when you leave school.

Repayment: Repayment of a Direct Student Loan begins six months after you graduate or leave school on at least a half-time basis. The standard repayment term is ten years. There are other repayment plans available such as graduated repayment and extended repayment to minimize your monthly payment.

Fees: The interest rates for Federal Direct loans are shown below. 

• The Federal Perkins Loan is a 5 percent fixed simple interest loan which may be granted to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate considerable financial need. This specialized form of student financial aid is administered not by banks or the Department of Education, but by your school itself. As with all schools participating in the Federal Perkins Loan Program, Wellesley College has a limited amount of funds to award each year. The amount of funds is determined by Congress and is dependent on the repayment history of previous Perkins borrowers. You must be a U. S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to participate in this program.
  • Loan Amounts: Undergraduates may borrow up to $5,500 per year for an aggregate amount of $22,000.
  • Qualification: Demonstrated financial need.
  • Repayment: Repayment of a Federal Perkins Loan begins nine months after you graduate or leave school on at least a half-time basis. The standard repayment term is 10 years. There are other repayment plans available such as graduated repayment and extended repayment to minimize your monthly payment.

• The Wellesley College Loan is a 9 percent fixed simple interest rate loan, often granted to international undergraduate students who demonstrate considerable financial need. This specialized form of student financial aid is administered by Wellesley College; a limited amount of funds is available each year.
  • Loan Amounts: Undergraduates may borrow up to $4000 per year for an aggregate amount of $20,000.
  • Qualification: This loan cannot be requested. SFS will award the loan to eligible students based on demonstrated financial need.
  • Repayment: Repayment of a Wellesley College Loan begins nine months after you graduate or leave school on at least a half-time basis. The standard repayment term is ten years. There are other repayment plans available such as graduated repayment and extended repayment to minimize your monthly payment.
• The Plitt-Kirgan Loan is a 5 percent fixed simple interest rate loan which may be granted to undergraduate students who demonstrate considerable financial need. This specialized form of student financial aid is administered by Wellesley College.
  • Eligibility: Based on financial need; must be enrolled full time
  • Annual Limit: No annual limit, but an aggregate limit of $20,000
  • Fees: No fees
  •  Repayment: No payments due while student is enrolled full time or during grace period(nine months after leaving school). Maximum of eleven years to repay loan.
• The Students' Aid Society Loan is a low-interest loan which may be granted to undergraduate students who demonstrate considerable financial need. These funds have been donated by alumnae but are administered by the Financial Aid Office. The amount of funds available is determined by donations to the fund and on the repayment history of previous Students' Aid Society Loan borrowers. The Students' Aid Society is independent of Wellesley College.
  • Loan Amounts: Undergraduates may borrow up to $4,000 per year for an aggregate amount of $20,000.
  • Qualification: Demonstrated financial need.
  • Repayment: Repayment of a Students' Aid Society Loan begins nine months after you graduate or leave school on at least a half-time basis. The standard repayment term is five years.
• Educational Assistance Program for military families: MOAA's (Military Officers Association of America) program provides interest-free loans to children of military personnel for up to five years of undergraduate study as well as a limited number of grants. For more information, go to http://www.moaa.org/Education/

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Entrance Loan Counseling

Entrance Counseling is a Federal requirement explaining your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. It is designed to help you understand the seriousness of your loan obligations and the consequences of default.  It will also explain to you the basic facts about loan programs and provide you with important information on how to manage and repay your loans.

Exit Loan Counseling

Consolidation

If you already have FFEL (Stafford) Program loans and will now be receiving Direct Loans, consolidating your Stafford and Direct Loan program loans together into a Direct Consolidation loan may make loan repayment easier.  If you consolidate, you will have just a single monthly payment.  Consolidating your Stafford loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan may also allow you to take advantage of certain benefits that are offered only in the Direct Loan Program, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the Income Contingent Repayment Plan.
 
To learn more about when you may consolidate, the pros and cons of doing so, and the application process, visit www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov or call 800.557.7392 (TDD/TTY: 800.557.7395).

The following are consolidation options for private student loans:

• Sun Trust Private Student Loan Consolidation
• Wells Fargo Private Student Loan Consolidation

Loan Forgiveness and Cancellation

• Federal Perkins Loan Cancellation
• Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program for Teachers
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Alternative Student Loans

Alternative student loans are private loans available to students who need funding beyond the limits of need-based loan programs.  Because of the debt burden associated with borrowing alternative loans, you are encouraged to make an advising appointment with a Financial Aid counselor before borrowing additional funds.

Alternative Loan Considerations:

• Take time to carefully review your family's financial situation and identify every financing resource available. Be sure to explore all options before applying for an alternative loan.
• Alternative loans should be the last option a student should consider. The Direct loan program is a better option. If you need to borrow an alternative loan be sure that you have first borrowed the maximum Direct loan for which you are eligible. First year dependent students may borrow up to $5,500; second year dependent students may borrow up to $6,500; and for each subsequent year for dependent students, $7,500. Independent student eligibility is up to $9,500 for first years, $10,500 for sophomores; juniors and seniors may borrow $12,500 per year.
• Determine the total amount of education debt you and your family are willing to accumulate during the student's college enrollment. Take into consideration the four years worth of federal student loan debt the student will be taking on as well as what income the student may realistically expect after graduation.
• Thoroughly review and decide how important the various features of a loan are to you before choosing one; these features include fees, grace periods, lengths of repayment terms, how future interest rates are determined, co-signer release availability, borrower benefits and incentives.
• Another consideration is the frequency of the interest rate changes. Some loans change every three months (quarterly). Some loans change their interest rates every month. During a time of rising interest rates having your rate change on a monthly basis will cost you more money.
  Think about the length of your repayment period and how your monthly payments will be effected. If you plan to borrow more than $20,000 in alternative loans for your undergraduate career, you should consider a loan which offers a 15, 20, or 25 year repayment term. If you choose a loan with a repayment period of 12 or less years your monthly payment will be huge. Don't forget that you may also have the Federal Stafford loan to pay back as well.
• You may want a time period between leaving school and when monthly payments begin. Look for an alternative loan which has a grace period when payments are not due. For example, the Federal Stafford loans have a six month grace period after leaving school or graduating when monthly principal and interest payments are not due.
• Some loans have a co-signer release option. This means that the co-signer can be released from the obligations of the loan after a period of time and the student borrower will remain as the sole signer on the loan. Be aware that to be able to release the co-signer, you must make a certain number of on-time payments before the lender will consider releasing the co-signer. Also, the student borrower needs to prove that he or she is able to make payments on the loan after the co-borrower is released. If this is an important feature for you, inquire about the number of on-time loan payments required to release the co-signer and how is the borrower determined to be able to make payments after the co-signer is released.
• Most loans have borrower benefits and payment incentives. Payment incentives include interest rate reductions after certain number of on-time payments, and interest rate reductions for automatic payments from a bank account. A word of caution about incentives linked to making a number of on-time payments: only a small number of borrowers actually benefit from this type of incentive because there may be a late payment made along the way. To safeguard against having late payments, ask what is the window of time when a payment is considered to be on-time. For example, if the payment is due on the 10th of the month, and the window is 10 days, you have until the 20th to make the payment and still be considered on-time. If the window is only 5 days, you need to make payments sooner. To ensure that payments are made on time, ask about paying the monthly bill using automatic payments from your bank account.
• Information regarding a specific loan program can be obtained from the lender.

Recommended Alternative Student Loans: Please visit our Recommended Lender List for all outside lenders through ELM Select. This site gives you the ability to compare the benefits and services offered by each of our recommended lenders.

A Recommended lender list is a starting point when you are seeking an educational lender that offers a good combination of cost, convenience, and service. You are always free to borrow from any lender—whether on the list or not. Student Financial Services(SFS) selects lenders on the basis of value, reliability, and service when we create our lender list. We evaluate criteria such as rates, other borrower benefits, customer support, and technology. SFS has conducted an objective selection process for lenders. Please be in touch with us if you have any questions.